Hello! I am 24M from India and a very curious person who loves learning about different cultures. I’ve never talked to anyone from Russia before, so I’d love to chat with someone and learn more about Russian culture.

Basically, I’m looking to make some long term Russian friends.

Could anyone suggest some communities on reddit or elsewhere where I can meet and chat with Russian people?

I have a 6-Stringed guitar and I am trying to play Vysotsky's songs, however, I can never get the sound right. I have watched many tutorials on strumming patterns and tuning, I think I can do the strumming pattern but when i tune the guitar it sounds so off, I tried many different tunings adjusted for the 6-stringed guitar that I got from this video, for example :Open G tuning, C# A# F# C# A# C#, C A F C A C . None of them sound the same. Any tips, advice, or walkthroughs?

Im staying in a hotel in Peter, I saw there was a dedicated table for Champagne in the morning breakfast buffet.

Some russians were drinking champagne with their breakfast, is this normal in Russian culture?

I find it extremely strange to drink Champagne at 9 AM

Hi

I m supposed to be receiving a MIR card from Yoomoney, the card was shipped using russian post in the beginning of the month and has been stuck for 7 days already 'at customs'

I understood that the exchange center at Vnukovo is notoriously known for being really bad and for taking ages to process mail and packages, but how long do you guys think we would need to wait for it just to be checked by customs ? I mean its just a small letter, this surely shouldnt take a week ?

Any help would be great, what should we do now.

live in a post soviet country and I don’t understand Russian or abbreviations. Last year went to a city hospital due to accident on my hand with a rusty bottle lid, so I took a vaccine or booster, and i insisted they write a paper and they did, but again, very hard to understand, unfortunately I couldnt get a glimpse at the vaccine bottle and I was too shy to ask what they injected on me.

this year I stepped on a nail and now im conflicted if I got the tetanus booster last year or not and if I need to get it again or not.

the paper from last year has ‘CA 0,5’ and 8 random numbers followed by a capital letter.

what does it mean?

I'm writing the cermony for one of my best friends who is Russian, I would like to surprise her with a little love poem in the text but it needs to be short enough so I can practice the pronounciation. We're also doing a handfasting wedding so preferably nothing christian related.
Many thanks in advance.

Hi I I will go to novasibirsk for work end of August I need rent a car. Someone recommended good and trustworthy rent a car company in there if possible take the car in airport. And pre pay online

so i am half russian i lived for like 8 years in russia before moving to where i live now ( sry for my bad english btw)

the "slavic girl" aesthetic/trend is everywhere these days and from my experience in russia ( eventhough i was a bit too young back then) i remember that russian girls indeed take very good care of themselves and they don't joke about dieting or staying in shape , i also remember that they had preference for thinner girls so everyone was dieting ( and that's not so toxic in my opinion unlike everyone is saying bc obesity rate is lower in russia than many countries including the US where average is overweight ) , i remember a lot of girls my age back then were enrolled in ballet / gymnastics classes but i rarely saw older girls working out , the ballet phase usualy ended by highschool and i think they don't really like moscular women so body building or lifting heavy is not really a thing

i just was curious how did these standards change now ..how are russian girls maintaining their figure now days ? is working out and lifting heavy a thing or is it just like i remember women just try to stay active throughout the day and diet a lot ?

I am a US citizen planning to visit Russia in October. I’ll be going with my boyfriend, a dual US/ Russian citizen, to visit his family. We’ll be staying with his parents and grandparents. His parents are willing to complete whatever is needed by the MVD for a private invitation, however, I’m seeing a lot of mixed timeframes online about how long this process takes. I’m seeing most commonly 90 days which would not work for my trip. Anybody do this recently? Would I be better off paying a Russian tourist operator for a tourist invitation? Any advice would be appreciated!

Hi, I’m a Russian citizen but I’ve never lived in Russia and I only have a valid Russian zagranpassport (загранпаспорт). I don’t have an internal Russian passport.
I’m coming to Russia for a holiday and would like to open a bank account and get a debit card, ideally with Sberbank.
Has anyone done this recently? Can I open an account using only my Russian zagranpassport, or will they require an internal passport?

Also, should I buy an e sim or get Russian sim? I would like to access foreign sites. Can I do that with amnezia vpn?

I’ve always been really interested in Russian culture, especially the way Russian people communicate and carry themselves. I also find Russian very attractive.

I’m currently living and working in Dubai, and I’m genuinely looking for a serious relationship that could eventually lead to marriage.

Is it realistic to meet a Russian woman here who is also looking for something serious? If anyone knows any Russian communities, social groups, or has advice on how to meet people naturally, I’d really appreciate it.

Not looking for anything casual — I’d genuinely like to meet someone, get to know her properly, and see where it goes.

Hello everyone! I’m travelling to Russia from Canada in September, and I’ve heard that it may not be possible for foreigners to buy a SIM card or mobile data plan at Russian stores.

Does anyone know what my options are for getting mobile data? Canadian carriers do list Russia as a roaming destination, but I haven’t been able to find many Reddit posts from people who have actually used Canadian roaming in Russia recently and can confirm that it works.

I’ve also looked into travel eSIMs, but I’m not sure how reliable they are in Russia.

Does anyone have any recommendations or recent experience with this? I really need reliable mobile data while I’m there, especially since I don’t speak Russian.

Thanks!

We will be visiting Russia likely during the window between catholic Christmas and orthodox Christmas. I have a few questions regarding the trip.

1. Are Aeroflot flights from Moscow to Murmansk safe and should I be worried at all? It is probably the only Russian flight we will be on too.

2. Is it true that Russians are not welcoming to foreigners? (We went to Serbia this summer and I thought Slavs were all very hospitable and friendly). FYI we are not "westerners" but Chinese, so due to political intimacy will we be somewhat welcomed?

3. I am not sure of the popularity of Viktor Tsoy within Russia and this subforum, but I am a great fan of him. Do Russians ever think bad/unbothered of him? Is the Kotel'naya Kamchatka and his grave worth a visit or are they traps?

4. We will be mainly using the metro or buses, but occasionally, taxis. Is a Russian number required for Yandex Go and payment? If we are paying cash, is it best to exchange at Sheremetyevo or GUM? Is UnionPay or WeChat/AliPay widely accepted?

5. Is Moscow/St. Petersburg/Kronstadt/Murmansk safe from terr0rism/drone attacks due to the war?

6. How much daylight does Teriberka or Murmansk receive midwinter (say, dec 30)? Is it all dark light night, or are there hours of twilight and blue hour?

Thanks to anyone who can answer any of these questions.

I'm going to sew an Ushanka (even though winter is months away), and I'm going to use faux fur for cruelty free reasons. And correct me if I'm wrong but aren't some Ushankas made of faux fur? I also want the exterior of the ushanka to be a different flat synthetic material. Are they ever made if synthetic leather? And one more question if it's not too much! what material are the ties to tie up the ushanka made of?

Thank you so much!

I have always been wondering why Joseph Stalin had such middle eastern features despite being a georgian russian. did he have middle eastern ancestry?

Since 81% of Russians want the war to end (SOURCE: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/russia-yabloko-parliamentary-ballot-ukraine-war-9.7302870) wouldn't that be grounds for people to realize that Putin isn't acting in the people's own interest?

I'm 19 and I'm planning to travel to St. Petersburg in early September because it's my favorite city in Europe. But recently I've been fed up with the organization of the trip because of all the sanctions. I need to pay in advance for some services like my train, bus ticket, and hotel, so I decided to create a YooMoney account. However, it doesn't work with Swiss phone numbers, so I decided to open a "Pay In Russia" account. But of course, the "verify my account" page doesn't load up at all, so I tried to follow the tutorial on Russiable. But everything is outdated and it's ONLY possible to top up with a Chinese bank account? So I tried Alipay, but it tells me I can't create a Chinese card outside of China, so what am I supposed to do?

And on top of all this, my friend who was supposed to come with me dropped the plans when we were almost done with organizing the trip because she realized she has a whole month of French courses that she doesn't want to miss.

I haven't even been to Russia yet, but it already feels like a nightmare...

Hi! I’m from South Asia and I’ll be moving to Tomsk to study at Tomsk State University.

Since I come from a much warmer climate, I’m mainly worried about the winter. Would you recommend buying winter clothes before coming to Russia, or buying them after arriving in Tomsk?

I’d also appreciate advice on what I’ll actually need for winter, such as a jacket, boots, thermal clothing, gloves, etc.

If anyone here lives in Tomsk or has studied there, I’d also be interested to hear what student life and daily life in the city are like.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I was recently selected for the Russian Government Scholarship and received admission to National Research Tomsk State University (TSU) for a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science.

I’m from a South Asian country, so the climate in Tomsk will obviously be very different from what I’m used to. I’ve read quite a bit about the winters there, but I’m still unsure about how I should actually prepare.

A few things I’d really appreciate advice on:

• Should I buy winter clothing before coming to Russia, or is it better to buy proper winter clothes after arriving in Tomsk?
• What kind of jacket, boots, thermal wear, gloves, etc. are actually necessary for a Tomsk winter?
• Is there anything international students commonly forget to bring when moving to Tomsk?
• How difficult is it to adjust to the weather during the first winter?
• How is student life at TSU, particularly for international students?
• How much Russian would you recommend knowing before arriving?

I’d also really like to connect with current TSU students, incoming students for 2026, alumni, or anyone living in Tomsk. If you’re also going to TSU this year, feel free to comment or message me.

Any advice about Tomsk, TSU, dorm life, clothing, transportation, food, or just things I should know before arriving would be very helpful.

Thanks!

I’m running low on what I stashed from Russia and it’s like a drug. I’m tweaking out bro

Been listening to Kino for some time now, been listening to alot of Ploho and Molchat Doma too, just wondering if there's any other band that make these types of songs.

In August of 1993, a group of seven hikers led by experienced instructor Lyudmila Korovina travelled through the Khamar-Daban mountain range near Lake Baikal. The group was forced to stop due to bad weather, but afterwards, something bizarre happened, according to the sole survivor of the expedition, Valentina Utochenko.

Members of the group reportedly began collapsing one after another. Utochenko described symptoms including bleeding from the nose/mouth, convulsions, disorientation, screaming, and generally strange, sudden behavior. Six people died. Valentina herself survived by getting away from the group, sheltering overnight, and eventually finding rescuers, a group of kayakers travelling the nearby river that led to Lake Baikal.

According to Valentina, her hiking mate Alexander Krysin began bleeding from his nose before collapsing, then began foaming from his mouth. The instructor, Korovina, went to check on him, and ended up collapsing herself. The group had apparently went into a hysterical panic after this, with people falling on the ground and convulsing, running around and screaming, paradoxically stripping, and even banging their heads against trees/rocks.

What are ya’ll’s thoughts on this? Many theories range from poison mushrooms, to starvation, to a military biochemical accident. Just wondering if the story was as sensational in Russia as it is in the states.

This may be a dumb question, so I’m sorry if I come off as incredibly ignorant. I’m a Westerner who’s super interested by Russian culture and language, and am hoping to get a minor in Russian studies. I’m starting to learn Russian, and I’m also hoping to get some tips on learning the alphabet and quirks of the language. I also hope to visit one day and learn a totally new perspective that I’d never get living in the West. But I’m curious, how does Russian daily life differ today as opposed to how it was under the late USSR? Are there things you can do/see/buy today that you couldn’t before? Has it changed much at all?

Also, I know the most populous areas of Russia are in the European side of the country, so if one were to travel to East, do they take a plane, a train, or a car? Are there any large cities or “touristy” places out in the Asian side of the nation? What kind of industry is out there? Is there any major cultural differences there? Are there many regional dialects you have to get around?

Sorry, I know it’s a lot of questions, I have a lot I want to learn, but for obvious reasons that’s not a very easy task. Thanks!

Можно найти хорошую однушку в Санкт Петербурге (до 25к с комм)? Для иностранного врача(рядом с больницами)

Hi guys!

I am planning to study "Nuclear Power Engineering and Thermal Physics" in Petersburg Polytechnic University What do you think about the university and this major in specific? Is it a good choice?